Volume 13, May 2006

We have new and exciting changes to report here at QLD! First of all, Eric Meyer has joined QLD as our new CEO. Eric brings a wealth of educational industry experience to our organization. He has over 15 years serving the U.S. K-12 market with an emphasis on technology and information management. He has held executive positions at CELT and JDL Technologies and most recently, was President and CEO of TurnLeaf Solutions, Inc. TurnLeaf provided schools with state of the art data mining tools on student testing. TurnLeaf was acquired by McGraw-Hill Companies in August, 2005. We are thrilled to have Eric as part of our team!

You may have also noticed some other positive changes here at QLD. Our new 'look' reflects our refocused mission to grow school leadership the S.M.A.R.T. way! We are a professional services consulting firm that partners long-term with districts to help build high quality leadership at the school sites. Our S.M.A.R.T. processes, strategies and tools focus schools on improving student results.

You will be hearing more about QLD's S.M.A.R.T. Solution in the coming months. Please visit our new web site to hear the latest! And be sure to check back regularly — our software demonstration will be ready soon!

Thank you!

Anne Conzemius and Jan O'Neill

PS: What does S.M.A.R.T. stand for? Specific and Strategic, Measurable, Attainable, Results-based, Timebound!

In this issue...

SMART Goals at McFarland Schools

In 1998, McFarland, a small suburban district in Wisconsin with relatively little diversity, was achieving slightly below the state average on measures of achievement at every level, in every subject area. Today, the whole system has improved, including significant improvement in student reading scores.

NOTE: This article is in Microsoft Word format for downloading (59kb).

"The whole is never the sum of the parts - it is greater or lesser depending on how well the individuals work together."

Chuck Noll

Tips from the Toolbox: Turbo Meetings

Turbo-charge your meetings at school! Our tips for efficient and effective 30+ minute meetings can be used by grade level teams, departments, administrative groups, even whole faculties.

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN turbo-charge your meetings....

Special Springtime Saving Deals

Summer's Comin'! Time to relax, reflect and catch up on your reading! For a limited time only, save up to 20% off the regular purchase price of the SMART Schools book series.